My Big Toe
A few days ago, my left big toe started to feel funny. I didn't think much about it at first - assumed my sock had gotten bunched up or something, and went about my business. A few hours later, I couldn't think about anything else. My poor toe was red, swollen, inflamed, and painful! I didn't have any epson salts around, so I soaked my foot in lavendar-scented bath salts, giving our family room a lovely aroma, and giving myself a first-degree burn because I made the water so hot. I then dosed myself with ibuprophen and went to bed.
Toe felt a bit better the following morning, but by late afternoon, same deal as before. I asked my husband if he though I might have gout, and he laughed. I talked to my friend Stephanie a little later, and she asked the same question. Saturday am, I could tell the toe would just be getting worse throughout the day, so I went to Kaiser, sat in a waiting room with a bunch of hacking, sneezing people, and hoped I wouldn't leave with something worse than a painful toe. When I got in to see the doctor, she said she was going to order a blood draw to check for gout (so there, hubby!) and was also going to prescribe an antibiotic, in case it was an infection.
It's now Sunday, and my toe is feeling much better. So I guess it's not gout. That's fine. I kept having images of myself as a portly 18th century gentleman, and they weren't pretty.